Sunday, July 27, 2008

It's been a busy (and fun!) few days with company so I don't have much time to post right now. Hope everyone is well and enjoying their reading time.

I did manage to finish this yesterday afternoon when I had a couple hours to myself. It was soooooo good! At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like it as much as Love Walked In her first novel because this one has a different format, but after twenty pages or so, I was hooked.

If anything, the writing in this second novel of hers is even more exquisite. It just shines!

And I have to admit that I was glad I was alone when I read the ending because I had to keep stopping to wipe the tears out of my eyes.

Monday, July 21, 2008

I had a hard time about half way through this book and wasn't sure I was going to finish it but I kept slogging through and I'm glad I did! I read in bed last night until I couldn't focus then sat on the couch this morning reading until I finished.

As usual, Picoult weaves an absorbing tale and writes with such gentleness and illumination that I just love swimming in her words.

Faith is seven years old and talks to God. Her parents have just split up and both want custody. That sounds very simplistic but there is so much more to this thought-provoking novel about beliefs. Definitely worth the time to read, even through the middle doldrums.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

I had a busy week. On Sunday my husband, another couple and I rode motorcyles to a restaurant in Arundel, Maine. There must have been 200 bikes there. They fixed up the back yard with picnic tables, a huge grill and sold hamburgers, etc. A band was playing. It's quite the place. Here's a picture of us there.

On Tuesday I went golfing for the first time this summer. I'm not very good and only go maybe 4 or 5 times a season so I don't have a chance to improve but I still enjoy it. Afterwards, we went to Olive Garden for lunch: grilled shrimp on angel hair. Yum! It was my first ever visit. My friend said, "You're no longer an Olive Garden virgin!"

Wednesday morning my mom and I left for our annual trek to Foxwoods Casino. We had so much fun and didn't get home until after midnight on Thursday, well, actually, Friday morning!

Since then I've been lying low and trying to read. I'm still working on Jodi Picoult's Keeping Faith but it's slow going. I'm enjoying it but am only about halfway through. I think I have one more Picoult novel to read then I'll be caught up on all of her books.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

It's 6am here on the east coast. The sun is just starting to pinken everything. Such a beautiful time of the day!

I'm glad I finished this book. It's the continuation of her earlier book Crank and the main charcter, Kristina, is still as obnoxious as ever. I wanted to slap her. She has a decent family and a cute little baby boy but what does she do? Gets messed up with drugs so bad that she can barely function.At the end of the book, the author, Ellen Hopkins, says that the novel is based on her own daughter's struggles with drugs. There is no happy ending and I'm glad to see that many teenagers in my school are reading these books.

Like the first one, this one, too, is written in poetry form with each poem a different shape. This makes for a quick read. Thank God! It was just so depressing.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

One of my favorite bookstores burned down last weekend, and while I only got to visit there while I was on vacation, it made me stop and think.

What would you do if, all of a sudden, your favorite source of books was unavailable?

Whether it’s a local book shop, your town library, or an internet shop … what would you do if, suddenly, they were out of business? Devastatingly, and with no warning? Where would you go for books instead? What would you do? If it was a local business you would try to help out the owners? Would you just calmly start buying from some other store? Visit the library in the next town instead? Would it be devastating? Or just a blip in your reading habit?

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My favorite bookstore is Wonderland Book Store in Gorham, NH. I worked there part time a few years ago and the owner, Gloria, was the best boss!

I like knowing that it is there whenever I need a book. I know all I have to do is call and the book will be there in a day or two if it is not in stock.

Everytime I walk in, I feel like I'm returning home; everyone has a smile and welcome for me.

If it went out of business, I'd feel like a part of me died, too. Of course, I'd continue to read and borrow or buy books somewhere else, but that little oasis of literacy in town would definitely leave a gaping hole if it wasn't there.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Good Morning Sunday Readers.I won't have much time for reading today because my son, mother-in-law, daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter are visiting.

I'm having a hard time moving on to a new book after this one. It just sticks in my mind. Alex is a junior in high school when an asteroid hits the moon moving it closer to the earth and causing catastrophies everywhere. His parents are nowhere to be found so he must take responsibility for his two younger sisters. How he manages makes for an absorbing story. I can't help thinking about how I would react in such a situation.

Susan Beth Pfeffer wrote this as a comapnion novel for Life as We Knew It, another book I loved. She's in the beginning stages of a third and I hope she hurries up and finishes it!